15 Months

It seems like each day, you are growing by leaps and bounds.  Even though you're 15 months old, you look much older than that.  Your head is huge.  A hat that Barrett wore the summer after his 2nd birthday is almost too tight on you.  18 month sized clothes are quickly getting too short.  I am just hopeful that we can manage to keep you in the clothes we already have until the fall so I don't have to go buy you a bunch of 2T clothes for the last month of the summer.

You continue to have a very healthy appetite, which I am sure contributes to your enormous size.  You finally discovered carbohydrates, and now that's all you want.  Bread, waffles, and crackers cannot be anywhere that you can see them during mealtime.  No one at the table is allowed to eat them now until you've finished some meat. If you see them, you just point and yell until you get the carbs. You still like the meat and eat it with no problems, as long as you don't see bread.  You still don't like pasta, but I have a feeling it is only a matter of time before that changes too.  Your newest discovery is corn on the cob.  You like corn off of the cob too, but you will carry around a corn cob and eat off of it for as long as we'll let you (or until a dog gets it).

Your verbal skills are growing slowly but surely.  You clearly articulate "mama," "dada,"  "nana (banana)," "Jack," "Bear Bear" and "up."  What is shocking, however, is your ability to make car and boat noises.  I am sure you picked some of this up from your big brother, but I have noticed that after spending time down at the lake, your vehicle noises have become even more varied and realistic. 

As you grow older, I keep expecting you to gain a healthy fear of being hurt.  Unfortunately, that has yet to happen.  You tried walking off the side of the dock a few weeks ago, but fortunately I was nearby and caught the handle on your life jacket before you made the leap.  You want to try to walk down the stairs the same way everyone else does, so we have to watch you closely to make sure you turn around and slide down "toes first" on your belly.  When we're on a boat ride, you want to walk around and try to dance while the boat is moving.  You fall down every time we hit a wave, but just keep on getting right back up and trying it again. 

You're still momma's boy, but you still love to be like your siblings.  You imitate everything they do. You want to play with the same toys as them, and you want to play with them the way your siblings do.  You don't even try to eat the little Lego's anymore.  You just play with them.  You pretend a car made out of Legos is a car and a boat made out of Legos is a boat.  Occasionally you'll decide to pull off a piece or two, but for a one-year old, you are surprisingly good with Legos!  

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention your hair.  It is thicker and grows faster than either of your siblings' hair did at this age.  If you were a girl, you'd have pigtails and pony tails all of the time.  Instead, you just get Mohawks and unicorn hair.

I frequently find myself still referring to you as "my baby," but I am realizing that you really aren't a baby any more.  You're a full blown toddler, and as sad as it can be to think that you're no longer my "baby" boy, I am having so much fun watching you grow up.  I love making you laugh.  I love snuggling with you and singing you songs.  I just love you, and I love that you're my toddler boy.

Acting Like Kids Again

Last week, Bill and Lana took our kids for a whole week.  They spent the week at Lake of the Ozarks with them, a tradition they started a couple of years ago.  They were kind enough to take all 3 kids this year too including Fletcher, which I think I was more nervous about than they were.  Based on the pictures I saw on Facebook, the brief phone conversations I had with the kids that week, and the number of stories they told me within hours of our reuniting, I'd say they had a pretty fantastic time. 

On the flip side, Billy and I were completely kid-free for 7 whole days.  I can't remember the last time that happened.  Seriously.  We took a trip to New England 2 years ago, but then we were only gone 5 days.  To make it even more unusual, we were the ones at home that whole time.  When they were gone on the weekend, it was eerily quiet.  To be honest, I was a little lonely.  Billy and I did some furniture shopping (which our kids hate...just ask them what their least favorite activity is).  We went and sat at a bar and had a couple of drinks together.  We went out to dinner with friends. We went to church and got in and out of there in record time because we weren't picking up or dropping off kids in Sunday School or the nursery.  By Sunday night, I was ready to have them home.

Then, we started the work week.  The next 5 days went by so quickly It's like I blinked and they were over.  We only had one night at home.  The other nights were were out with friends or at work functions.  I have to admit that staying out for a work happy hour/dinner is much more enjoyable when there is no mommy guilt attached to the outing.  I also did my devotional readings in the morning.  I know, that's the best practice anyway, but I have to be honest.  It is a challenge for me to focus and read my devotional in the morning when I know that at any second I could have drama from one of three children that could totally throw off my morning and put me behind 20 minutes.  I am more relaxed and focused when I do them at night.  But last week, I was amazed by how much more the scripture stuck with me and came to my mind throughout the day.  It's definitely a goal of mine now to make that my habit. 

Friday came, and we headed back down to the lake.  We spent the weekend and the 4th with family, which is always a great time.  It was fun to have the week "off" from momming, but I am glad to have my kiddos back home.  I'd be lying if I didn't admit I had fun acting like those hip, stylish folks with no kids and fatter wallets, but I wouldn't trade my mom status for anything.